Both the iPhone and the iPad are incredible inventions. Not only are they small, thin and extremely beautifully designed, their functionality is impressive and both come supporting a wealth of applications for Apple’s online App Store.

One area of applications that is booming at the moment is creativity; particularly popular with web designers, logo designers , writers and poets.
So with that said, here are just a couple of the better iPhone / iPad applications available to help you nurture your creative side:

Idea Sketch:
Idea Sketch is a free application that allows you to create brainstorms and mind-maps incredibly easily. Admittedly it lacks any other functions or uses, but for a free application you can’t complain too much and the mind-mapping program is enough to warrant downloading the app. It’s actually quite useful too, as not only is it extremely helpful in forming ideas but being able to store previous thinking sessions quickly becomes an excellent resource for ideas on future issues.

Moodboard:
This is an iPad application that allows you to put together a moodboard featuring images, video, texts, colour palettes and much more. Perfect for writers, designers and artists, you can put together a specific board for each logo design or website design you work on.

Sketchbook Pro
Another application for the iPad, this one does cost a little more but is certainly worth the money. The application lets you paint, draw and doodle directly onto the pad using your fingers or the stylus. You can easily select your brush type, stroke thickness, colour and numerous other options and it even has photoshop type layers for more complex drawings, illustrations for a logo, etc.

Things
Things is a project and time management application that is extremely useful to designers, writers, etc. Although it doesn’t strictly help with creativity, it’s a useful tool for any creative designer as it allows you track how much time you’re spending on each project and see quickly and easily which jobs are yet to be completed. It’s a very useful tool for overall management of a project and makes time billing much, much easier. Again this costs more than a lot of apps that do a similar job, but it’s the best one of its kind and is a genuinely useful tool for a freelancer to have access to.

Most of us have had the experience of being somewhere unfamiliar, looking for somewhere to eat that won’t result in food poisoning. I had a similar experience yesterday wandering around Nottingham looking for a decent Indian or Chinese.

But if you’re an iPhone owner, then you don’t have to worry about this problem. There are numerous apps available on the iTunes App Store that allow you to use the phone’s built-in GPS to pinpoint your location and find all the restaurants in your local area.

The Around Me app is an excellent example, and allows you to find banks, restaurants, hotels, supermarkets (basically anything you might need) and then provides you with user reviews, directions and a wealth of other information on your chosen listing.

Your other option of course is to use the phone’s 3G capabilities and Google what you’re looking for; something that was nearly impossible to do so quickly and easily before the mass distribution of smartphones. While i was in Nottingham for example i searched for ‘Chinese takeaway Nottingham‘ as well as ‘Indian Takeaway Nottingham‘ using the iPhones Safari browser. The results were returned quickly, and i found some incredibly useful recommendations for (and directions to) decent local eateries.

If you can’t get your phone online, you could of course always try a local enquiry line, who should be able to give you suitable recommendations. For example, i called one of these lines and asked for decent Nottingham takeaways , the woman was extremely helpful and provided several useful local recommendations.

So you can always use your phone to find a good restaurant or takeaway one way or another, and this is just one of a thousand reasons why it’s a good idea to get yourself a smartphone.

The 3.5 inch ‘Retina’ IPS LCD display really stands out on the new iPhone 4. It boasts an overall display resolution of 960×640 pixels and 326 pixels per inch. In plain language, no other cell phone available on the current market provides resolution nearly this high, which means you have never seen an image this clear on a mobile device.

Apple did not stop with the display on their newest iPhone release. The same internal processor that drives their recently released iPad also governs the iPhone 4. The processor leaves other smart phones way behind, as Apple truly revolutionized its processing abilities for the smartphone. In addition, the battery lasts approximately 40% longer than its 3G predecessor – which means seven hours of talk time and 300 hours if in standby mode. The frequent ding of the low battery tone will be a thing of the past with your new iPhone 4.

The operating system has also been revamped from the iPhone OS 4.0 to the smoothly running iOS 4. Perhaps most pleasing to iPhone users will be the ability to multitask various applications while using their smartphone. Apple has stated that the new operating system has allowed the enhancement of approximately 1500 features on the new iPhone. Previously, a user had to stop iTunes playback in order to check their email – but now the user can listen to music and check email at the same time. Users will also be able to organize and create iTunes folders on the go and will even have the ability to tap into Apple’s emerging iBooks application.

If you want to take pictures, the iPhone 4 can do that better than ever before, with the new 5 megapixel camera that can take 720p HD video as well. Apple has clearly listened to the requests of its customers, who were looking for a camera phone that would rival the competition. ‘Face Time’ can also be used with the camera, allowing you to make video calls, which is a feature unique to smartphones and clearly advantageous for most.

If you think that you want an iPhone 4, then do a little online research and compare service providers to see who has the best deal on this excellent handset. With a two year contract, the iPhone has a promotional selling price of approximately $200, but with a quick online comparison shopping trip, you can almost certainly find an even better price.

If you liked this, try : iPhone 4 Deals

The aesthetic design of the iPhone 4 makes it really stand out from the competition. It is noticeably slimmer than the iPhone 3GS, measuring 9.3mm deep, whereas the iPhone 3GS’s is 12.3mm (that works out to be about 24% less). The iPhone 4 is slightly narrower too – 59mm to 62mm. The overall weight is the same – 136g – but the changes to the dimensions make the iPhone 3GS seem somewhat ‘bulky’ in comparison. Changes in design are of course just the tip of the cell phone iceberg. Where the Apple iPhone 4 really shines is in the technological department. After all, beauty is only skin deep. Maintaining the 3.5-inch display of the iPhone 3GS, the iPhone 4 doubles the resolution of its display to 960 by 640 pixels. The IPS display is comprised of 326 pixels per inch, making it the highest resolution phone available. Also featured on the iPhone 4 is the Retina display. The name refers to the fact that the display is greater in number of pixels than the human retina is able to process. The high number of pixels brings a new level of performance in sharpness, clarity, and detail of the images seen on the phone. The in-plane switching (IPS) techniques found on all iMac and iPad displays also appears on the iPhone 4. The bright, lustrous display and its huge viewing angle make images look excellent from any position. The Apple iPhone 4 contains the companys A4 CPU. This is the same processor found in the Apple iPad. Running on the iOS 4 operating system, a number of capabilities are available to the Apple iPhone 4. The recently renamed iOS 4 provides the long-awaited multitasking function. Just as with the welcome and long awaited copy and paste feature, Apple has come through by making the multitasking feature operate without a hitch. Camera and video advancements are also welcome enhancements to the iPhone 4. The primary camera has received a boost from 3 to 5 megapixels. This is accomplished with the same size pixels. Also new is an LED flash, backlit sensor and a 5X integrated zoom. High-def video is now possible at 720p and 30 frames per second. The tap-to-focus feature previously found only on the camera is now included on the video recorder. Anyone who owns an iPhone or iPhone 3G should consider the iPhone 4 a must own. Including design changes that are pleasing to the eye, the iPhone 4 has made technological advances that improve its performance as well as its imaging capabilities. These changes make it a noticeable upgrade to previous incarnations of the iPhone.

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The time has finally come. Apple fanboys and fangirls can breathe a sigh of relief, as their dreams of getting their steamy little paws on the newest iPhone have been made real.

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The intense competition between the different smartphone manufacturers over the last year has forced them to work on more advanced and innovative features in order to stay ahead of their rivals in the marketplace. One of the most popular smartphones ever released, the Apple iPhone has worked hard from the start to give their users with a lot of features and facilities on its handsets, allowing it to maintain its position as the leader in market sales from its initial release.

The iPhone 3G and 3GS have so far managed to compete effectively against the various new advanced mobile handsets and smartphones released by other device manufacturers, even though they are offering new operating systems and more functions and features on their handsets. Continue Reading